Privacy Policy

GridLok is a research and publishing site about search, AI answer engines, and how machines read the web. This page explains what we collect, what we do not, and how to reach us about it.

The short version

• We use Google Analytics to see which articles get read.
• We do not sell your data, run advertising, or build profiles on you.
• We have no newsletter signup, no account system, and no contact form storing submissions.
• The Heatcast browser extension runs entirely on your own device and sends us nothing at all.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4, connected through the Google Site Kit plugin. Google sets cookies and processes data that can include your IP address, browser and device type, approximate location, the pages you view, how long you stay, and the site or search that sent you here. We use this to understand which topics are worth writing more about.

You can opt out of Google Analytics entirely with the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, or by blocking analytics cookies in your browser. Nothing on this site stops working if you do.

We also connect Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights. Those report on how the site ranks and how quickly pages load. Neither collects information about individual visitors.

Cookies

Analytics cookies are set by Google, as described above. If you leave a comment, WordPress may store your name, email, and website in a cookie so you do not have to type them again. If you log in as a site author, WordPress sets session cookies. We set no advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

Comments

If you leave a comment, we store what you submit in the comment form along with your IP address and browser user agent string, which helps with spam detection. Comments are kept so the discussion stays readable. Ask us and we will delete a comment you left.

Server logs

Our web server keeps standard request logs, which include IP address, timestamp, the URL requested, and user agent. We use them for security and troubleshooting, and they rotate on a short cycle.

Free tools on this site

The tools published under gridlok.co/tools are free to use and need no account. Where a tool has to send information to an outside service to produce its result, that tool’s own page says so before you run it.

The Heatcast browser extension

Heatcast predicts where visual attention is likely to land on a web page. Because it looks at pages you are viewing, we want its behavior stated plainly:

• The attention model and the face-cue detector are bundled inside the extension and run on your own machine.
• Screenshots, page content, predictions, and exported reports stay on your device.
• The extension sends no browsing history, page content, or usage data to GridLok or to anyone else.
• Face detection reports only anonymous counts and shapes. It does not identify people or infer emotion, age, gender, or any personal characteristic, and it stores no face images or landmarks.
• Reports you export are written to your own downloads folder. Whether you share one is entirely your choice.
• The extension’s content security policy blocks its analysis code from contacting outside servers.

Heatcast has no account, no login, and no telemetry. There is nothing for us to delete because we never receive anything.

Who we share data with

Google, in its role as our analytics provider, as described above. We do not sell personal data and we do not pass it to advertisers or data brokers.

Your rights

You can ask what personal data we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. If you are in the UK, EU, or a US state with privacy legislation, those rights apply to you regardless of where we are. Reach us through the contact page and we will respond.

Children

This site is written for working professionals. It is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their data.

Changes to this policy

We update this page when the site changes. The revision date below tells you when it last happened.

Last updated: July 2026